


Remeberance of Time

by ShippingsandDeamons



Category: Bayonetta (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-07-28 05:17:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16234928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingsandDeamons/pseuds/ShippingsandDeamons
Summary: Before they were traitors, they were a witch and sage respectively. eventually the light and dark came together, this is a chronicle of such.





	1. Chapter 1

Standing tall before the Umbra witches grand elder, Rosa hoped she looked the epitome of a witch in training. Her posture was ramrod straight and her pose alert, everything she perceived the woman standing in front of her, looking down at her from a pair of spectacles, to present as. This was her first time standing before the Umbra’s leader, as well as the first time she’d been summoned to the woman’s study.

“Do you know why I have summoned you here, child?” She asked.

Rosa shook her head politely.

“Very well,” She replied. “Tomorrow is the yearly meeting between we Umbra Witches and our counterpart the Lumen sages. As is customary, we chose not just witches and sages from our ranks to attend, but a select few trainees as well. You, Rosa, have been chose and one of three others who will join you elders.”

Rosa nearly lost composure, joy swelled within her breast at the implications of her elder’s words. She was deemed as one of the few chosen who would represent the next generation of witches and their powers. She didn’t know the exact details of how the selection happened, but it didn’t matter! The grand elder had deemed her to be one of those few! It took all her self control not to start bouncing off of the walls and remain standing tall. She thought she saw a hint of smile on the older woman’s face.

“You have until tomorrow at dusk to prepare,” the grand elder said finally. “You are dismissed.”

Nodding, Rosa turned around and began walking, stiffly, towards the door. The attendant who had come to get her nodded at her and opened one of the twin doors. The well oiled hinges didn’t make so much as a grunt as the pine wood door was pulled open. Stepping out into the predawn air, she tensed up, not at the loud ‘thump’ the door made when it closed behind her, but in anticipation. 

She trotted down the above ground stone hallways, basking in the last of the twilight as she headed back to her room.She’d never been to a meeting between the two clans before, nor had she seen what a sage looked like outside of pictures in textbooks and scrolls. Would they have the same divine and holy look about them they had in her texts? She would find out soon enough. The anticipation made her vibrate in place as she moved forward.

 

Nerves made it hard to fall asleep, but when dusk arrived, Rose found herself waking up to the sound of someone knocking on her door.

“Give me a moment and I’ll be ready.” She called.

She got no reply, but the knocking did stop.

Pulling free of her warm and soft blankets, Rose pulled out a clean set of robes she prayed were formal enough for the occasion and quickly dressed herself. With the slightest use f her magic and some red ribbons she soon had her ebony hair up in a bun in the back of her head. Finally ready, she opened her door and nodded at the woman who’d come to get her. The woman guided her to a courtyard where a large carriage stood waiting. 

Stepping inside, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief to find she was not the last person to arrive. The grand elder and two of her fellow witches in training here still elsewhere to be found. It was a little boost to her confidence. Lightly observing the fully christened witches and elders that would also be attending the meeting, she found that her form robes weren’t that far off from what the others were wearing, the seemed to be just a touch more formal than the rest. 

Another hour passed by before the remaining few finally trickled in. The grand elder’s daughter was among them, but not as one of the three trainees, even if she herself was still a witch in training. Rose didn’t find this surprising, she was the next in line to become leader of their clan. It made the most sense logically for her to attend these meeting as such. 

The meeting was always held on the statues that help acted as the divide between Crescent and Sunrise valleys. This would be her first time being so close to the stone depictions of witch and sage, each with their backs to each other. The ride was bumpy, at least for those like her who had to sit at the end, and consisted greatly of staring out of one of the windows if you didn’t have some sort of reading material and didn’t feel like talking with others.

Rosa had lived in crescent valley all her life, but because she wasn’t a full witch yet, was forced to stay close to home for just as long. This was the first time she’d been this far from home. Eventually they reached their destination and everyone filled out. Up this close, the witch stature loomed over them like a giant, looking down at them like they were little else than dust. Once inside, the elder left to go meet with the Lumen elders along with several witches. Those that remained were left to their own devices, with one simple warning; “don’t cause trouble”.

Wandering around the stone hallways, she sound a small garden or yard of some sort filled with various colorful flowers. Everything was lush and full of life, even in the moonlight. Then she found someone. The stranger was dressed in long white robes that were very different from her own. Their hair was a pale platinum color, like the moons gentle rays that show down around them. They were too far away to see their eyes, but in their lap sat a infant ford of some kind, all white and fully with fledgling downy.

She suspected this person was a sage, but there was only one way to confirm her suspicions.

“Hello.” she said, walking up to the person.

They looked up at her with eyes so pale they almost looked the color of ice instead of light blue. She also saw something she’d missed earlier; a golden clock that rested just above his heart. Unlike the one she had, that was silver in color and shaped like her namesake, a blooming rose, this one was shaped like the sun. He looked to be around her age, placing him as one of the sages in training.

“Your one of the umbra, aren't you.” he said.

“Yes, and I take it your a member of the Lumen.” She replied.

“Yes, I am one of the sages in training, miss witch in training.”

She snorted at such courtesy. She only talked formally to those older and higher ranked than her. Flowery language always got old quickly. She looked back down as the young bird in his lap. It looked as though the small creature had woken up, but it’s eyes were still closed.

“Who’s the friend you have there?” She asked.

“Hmm? Oh, this is Grace, an elder gave him to me as an egg.” Her companion replied.

“Oh? And what kind of bird is he?” She further asked, sitting down next to him.

“He’s a peacock, the males of their kind when fully grown have bright and colorful tail plumage with dark spots resembling eyes, they use it both to scare off predators, and to attracts mates.” he explained. “Though grace here won’t be as colorful as the rest of his kind, he’ll grow up to be all white.”

She watched the young sage as he carefully rubbed the birds head with the tip of his finger, smiling softly as it began making soft cooing noises.

“He hatched only recently, and i didn’t feel comfortable enough leaving him in the care of another this young, so I was allowed to bring him with me.”

The way he spoke in relation to the animal in his care was like a mother talking about her child. Then again she had been told many times by others that caring for a pet was very similar to caring and raising a child. They stayed like this for the duration of the evening, Rosa watching as the sage in training fussed over his pet, the two occasionally talking. Eventually the meeting came to an end.

“There you are.” 

Both of them were nearly startled out of their skin when a witch emerged from the gloom.

“The meeting has ended, it’s time for use to leave.” she said.

“I understand,” She replied.

Giving her companion a parting smile, Rosa got up and followed the older witch back to the carriage. She wasn’t sure if she would see the boy again, but she hoped she might. He seemed nice.

“So, how did your first interaction with the light go?” The witch asked. “You two seemed very friendly with each other.”

“I feel it went well, he was respectful of me and my culture, so I showed him the same courtesy.” She answered.

“Well, be warned that if you two should meet again, it might not be as friendly as this.” The older witch warned. “Between now and then, a hate of the dark could easily be fostered in his heart, and the same goes for you as well.”

“I understand, and I will make sure to keep that in mind.” She replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, Rosa was chosen to represent the next generation of her clan. She was one of 4 trainees this time, and the two from last year were not with her. Pride and anticipation swelled within her as she stepped into the carriage. Her thoughts were filled with contemplation of what she’d talk about this time when(if) she saw the Lumen trainee again. With her eyes directed at the window, none of her fellow sisters were any wiser to what occupied her attention. This time she’d make sure to get a name out of him.

When they arrived at the witch’s stature, she remained calm and patient even as she exited the carriage and stood before the giant twin doors. Despite her thoughts being elsewhere, Rosa listened dutifully to to the warning that were given, one’s she’d heard already, before they were allowed inside. Right away they were dismissed to go do their own thing as the adults and elder proceed to the meeting chamber.

Walking down a familiar stone hallway, following the steps she’d taken a year prior, Rosa arrived to a familiar landscape. Even though a years had passed by between when she’d last stepped foot in the garden and now, nothing seemed to have changed. Everything was just as magnificent and brimming with life as she remembered it. She spied a familiar figure sitting right where she’d expected it to and jogged over.

“We meet once again.”

The sage in training looked up at her from the paged of a thick tomb held daintily in both hands. His icy blue eyes twinkled a little as he realized it was her, and she swore she saw the faintest traces of a smile form on his lips.

“It seems we do.” He replied warmly.

He didn’t quite put the book down, but he respectfully lowered it down to his lap, which was bare of a familiar ball of feathers. It seemed that this year he didn’t bring Grace.

“You didn’t bring your pet with you this time?” She asked.

He shook his head. “Grace is old enough that I don’t need to worry about leaving him at home.”

“That’s good to hear, though I do hope you’ll bring him next time, he was very adorable.”

“I’ll talk with the adults then, next time.”

The pair settled back into their routine from last year, this time with the sage boy reading instead of fawning over his pet. He even humored Rosa and read a few passages of text out loud, as well as let her examon the pictures. Witches and sages held a shared history because of their roles as keepers of history, so he saw no harm in sharing lumen text with an umbra.

“You know, we never did tell each other our names last time we saw each other.” She said.

“That’s right, and I do suppose that it’s common courtesy to learn the name of someone you can tolerate the company of.” He replied.

She gasped in mock surprise. “A Lumen sage tolerating the presence of an Umbra witch? What would your elders think if they heard such blasphemy?”

“Oh har har har, many members of my clan can tolerate your kind. It’s not as earth shaking as you might think.” He quipped, but did laugh a little at her exaggeration.

“Well then, if it’s so normal, would you allow me the honor of learning your name?” She asked. “I’m Rosa.”

“And I am Balder.”

“Balder? But you don’t look very bald to me.” She teased.

Balder opened his mouth to respond, maybe even giver her an explanation of his name, but before he said anything he paused, then closed his mouth with a concerned expression. He furrowed his brows for a moment in thought, then turned to face her.

“I’m getting an ominous feeling right now, I’m going to go see what the other trainees are up to.” He said, getting up.

“I’ll come with you, just to make sure none of my fellow sisters are a part of it!” She replied, jumping to her feet.

Balder gave her a nod of thanks, then the 2 wasted no time in dawdling. Rosa chased after Balder, he was the one with the ominous feeling.

2 reasons came to mind as to why Balder would act on such suspicions; either it was to quell any anxiety or worry born from the feeling, it it was that his intuition was that sharp, and an ominous feeling always meant something was not right. Then again, she had no reason to judge him, because it could just as easily be that he was worried about his fellow Lumen in training. The clans might tolerate each other, but there was a reason for the warnings they received before hand.

After a few twists and turns here and there, the arrived to the common room the other trainees had situated themselves in. They were just in time to see one of the sage boy’s raise a hand as though in preparation to strike the boy on the ground. Whatever it was they’d missed, things had escalated to violence.

“What is going on here?” Balder demanded in a voice booming with authority. 

Rosa flinched slightly as the change in demeanor her ‘partner’ had. They boy who’d looked ready to hit someone all but jumped in place, looking wide eyed at the speaker. All eyes fell on Balder, both witch and sage.

“I’ll ask again; what is going on here?”

The would be attacker’s demeanor changed. His posture went from that of a frightened rabbit to tall and resilient. 

“Nothing going on, Balder, just a little joke.” He replied coolly.

Balder narrowed his eyes, examining him under careful scrutiny. Then he turned to observe the other 4, not counting the boy who had just risen to his feet and was now clutching his arms nervously.

“Is that what happened?” He asked, staring at the final sage in training.

The boy nibbled on his lip for a long moment, then nodded. “Yeah, it was just a little joke.” He replied.

Balder nodded. “Alright, do the rest of you agree with that?” He asked, this time looking to the witches in the room.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

“You’re seriously asking us for a statement?” One of her sister’s in training asked bewildered.

“Yes, unless you state otherwise, you were here the entire time. It would be foolish of my to make a judgment without taking all information into consideration, that includes the observations of witches in training.” He answered, dead serious.

“Fine, the logic’s sound.” she conquered. “I’m not sure what a joke is for you lumen sages, but it looked to me like this one,” She pointed at the potential offender, “Was saying some nasty things and trying to goad the other into attacking, then retaliated.”

“It looked that way to mee too.” “I agree.” The other two added.

“Alright, thank you.”

Balder closed his eyes and took in a breath.

“Given what the others have said and done, Mana, I’m going to operate under the suspicion that you were bullying a fellow sage in training.”

The other sage trainee, Mana, snarled. “What? Just because some witches said it looked like i was picking on this brat your going to call me the villain here?”

“That is your fellow brother in training, there is no excuse for harassing him.” Balder replied. “And just because they are witches does not mean their words are false.

“Alright, so what if I was acting less than nicely to him, what does it matter? He’s not a true sage anyhow.”

“Mana!” Balder chasted. “Just because Tearen has a normal human parent does not make him any less of a sage, our leader said do himself.”

Rosa joined her sister in training off to the said. Despite the fact that Balder had asked for their help, this was still a matter between sages in training. Mana was glowering at Balder, clearly unhappy with how he was scolding him so relentlessly.

Before the situation could spiral any further, a fully ranked sage appeared. 

“The meeting is over.” He said, than noticed the situation at hand. “What’s going on?”

“Sir! Tearen is just as much of a Lumen sage as I am, correct?” Balder asked.

“Yes, why?”

“Mana doesn’t agree.”

The sage sighed in such a way only someone who has had to deal with the same problem repeatedly could muster.

“Mana, we’ll talk later, for now it’s time to leave.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Tonight, my dear sister, we gather to celebrate a most joyous occasion!” The Umbra grand Elder said. “For tonight, several of our sister in training will now become adult members of our ranks!”

The waves of witches en mass let out whooping cheers; the ceremony of adulthood was always a beloved occasion for witches both young and old. As her fellow witches continued voicing their joys, the grand elder waved a hand, on cue the focus of tonight's ceremony marched dutifully and proudly on stance. Rosa was one of 20 others who after tonight would be graduating from the rank of trainee. Pride and anticipation swelled within her breast, threatening to make her giddy. Despite the swirling mass of emotions within, she kept her face calm and collect as the grand elder hushed the crowd.

A witch off to the side walked up carrying a large ceramic jar of some sort, and presented it ceremoniously to the grand elder. She was unable to see the contents of the jar, no matter how she moved her eyes to get a better look, even tilting her head slightly didn’t allow her a better view.

The woman with the jar rose back up to her feet before following the grand elder to the first trainee. Though close to the start of the line, there were still several of her sisters ahead of her. The grand elder dipped her hand into the open mouth of the jar.

“Inside this container is a most sacred material; hell water blessed by queen Shiva herself.” The grand elder began. “As tradition demands, I will bless each of you in turn so that you may all share in the blessing of Inferno’s goddess.”

The first girl bowed her head and the grand elder withdrew her hand from the jar. Droplets were scattered upon her hair, then something was traced upon her forehead, all the while the grand elder chanted something just barely inaudible to her. This continued with each of her sisters and she worked her way down the line. Eventually, it came to be her turn.

Rosa bowed her head. As soon as the first drop touched her hair, magic ignighted withing her. It practically sang as magic worked to blaze itself into every part of her being. Now she could hear what the grand elder was saying. They were prayers of power and skill, prayers so that she may have a strong pact demon in the future. Soon it was over and the grand elder was moving on to the next girl. Rosa straightened herself and stared on down the line, watching as the grand elder christened those that came after.

Then, a part of her began to think about her sage friend. He was about her age, that meant she too should be reaching adulthood soon, if he hadn’t already. What was the lumen ceremony of adulthood was like? Was it a simple affair like this? Where the newly fledged sages were christened with blessed water. Or was it something more?

Humming silently in thought, she continued to watch the grand elder as she worked down the line.

 

Balder found himself to be a bundle of nervous energy. His fellow brothers in training didn’t seem to be much better. He and 19 other, making 20 in total, here huddled outside in the clearing used for holy rites such as this one. Beside him, Tearen was wound tight with tension. Knowing his fellow sage in training, he was worried that in the end, the grand elder might declare him unfit for sagehood in the end. It was an understandable fear for someone born with diluted blood like Tearen’s was. His mother was a normal human, not even one of the spiritually powerful woman who also made up the ranks of Lumen Sages.

“If you’d been deemed unfit for sagehood, you’d not be here now.” He said only loud enough for his companion to here.

Tearen gave him a thankful look, some of the tension on his face bleeding away. They didn’t have much longer to wait. Soon after that, the grand elder of the lumen sages arrived with several other sages in tow. Finding their place on either said of the grand elder, the full sages glared down at them grimly and statue still.

“You all have been deemed ready to enter into adulthood,” The grand elder said. “And so, today you will be cleansed by heavenly fire and join us in rank as a true lumen sage.”

Waving to a pair of sages on the left, everyone waited quietly as the two inscribed runes and magic circles on the grass. When they were done, the grand elder inspected their work. His sharp eyes scanning the space critically to make sure everything was correct. When he was satisfied, he dismissed the two with a wave of his hand. Chanting something incomprehensible, the ground inscribed ignited into a fire burning with blues and greens, even a few shades of purple as well. 

“This fire is the blessing of Jubileus, it will not harm you as you cross it.” One of the older sages said. Form a single line and begin. The boys quickly found themselves falling into line. When they were in order the sage barked a hefty “begin” and the person in the front marched forward. Unsurprisingly, it was Mana.

He marched into the fire, head high with pride. When his robes vanished in the tongues of azure and pine the next boy marched forward. When it became Tearen’s turn, he hesitated a bit before marching forward as proudly as he could muster. Blader saw the grand elder nod contently as he did so.

And then it was his turn. Unlike everyone else, Balder chose not to march forward while showing pride, instead, he chose composure and focus. Marching towards the fires as though it was the gate to an enemy that threatened his people. Pride was good to an extent, but could easily lead to one downfall. A mantra he held close to his heart. When the flames consumed him, they didn’t burn in the ususal way. His magic ignited like dry tinder on a hot day, branding itself into every aspect of his being. The warmth didn’t leave him as he stepped through the other side, in fact, it felt as though it was going to consume him. Before he could take another step, something like water was dowsed over him, turning the heat into a chill that was bone deep. He nearly collapsed as Tearen bolted to his side to keep him upright.

“Damn, haven’t seen a reaction like that in decades!” One of the older sages muttered.

The grand elder looked at him peculiarly. Next to him, a masked figure he hadn’t noticed before stared back at him, curiously.He murmured something to the grand elder and then took his leave.


	4. Chapter 4

Almost directly after the ceremony of adulthood was over, Rose found herself and the rest of the graduates being herded off. Apparently, that was just the first step to becoming a full witch. They were guided into one of the large training room that students normally used. She and undoubtedly the rest had spent hours in rooms similar to this one. The high ceiling and bland gray stone were oh so familiar.

“Is everyone present? Good.” S senior witch, Guenidear, said. “All of you here are those ready to truly enter into adulthood as fully fledged witched, as such it is time for the next ceremony, and arguably one of the most important umbra rites, to commence.”

With a wave of her hands, several other witches stepped forward to help guide them all into place.

“Tonight, the 20 of you will all forge pacts with the demons of Inferno.” Guenadear informed them.

Hushed whispers rose from the ranks of fledgling witches. Pact demons were a witch’s most trusted allies, and their most powerful weapon against the angels of paradiso. Every true witch had one. Unlike the lesser imps and spites used in the training of witches in the art of wicked weaves, a true pact demon was your partner permanently, as long as the pact was in effect and both members were alive. This gave the contracted demons the right to a witch’s soul upon death.

“Quiet down!” Their elder sister barked. The younger witched fell silent immediately. “Good, now listen carefully. We will be sending all of you to inferno for a short time so that you may all create pacts with the demon of your choosing.” She explained. “But, there will likely be many demons clamoring to make a pact with any of you, and because of how crucial a demon pact is in our society, think carefully about who you forge a pact with. Each demon offers different things in a pact, try and form a pact with a demon that compliments your own strengths and weaknesses, so chose wisely.”

With that one warning out in the open, Guenadear barked some orders and everyone fell in place. Withing only seconds the older witches began chanting words of power that would weave the spell sending them to the depths of inferno. Guenadear’s warning echoed in her mind, nervous anticipation churning in her gut. Finally, the world went black.

 

When Rosa came to, she found herself standing alone in the middle of a desolate field. The landscape around her was baren, only a few clumps of shriveled grass dotted the dark ground. Everything seemed perpetually aglow with firelight, in the distance was some tall mass that almost looked like the edge of a forest. She’d read about inferno before, there were several tombs that contained descriptions of the place withing their yellow pages. But, standing now in the place itself, it dawned on her that the books never did do it justice.

There were no signs of her fellow sisters in arms, and there certainly were no demons around either. There was only the ash and brimstone there as her company. Well, was it really that surprising? No one had said they’d stay as one big group. Guenadear had said there would be may demons coming to great them, but so far there were no elderich monster of grisly and inhuman for there to speak with her. Maybe it just took time - how likely was it that the demons knew today would be the day several witches were coming to forge pacts?

The older witch hadn’t said anything to diswade them from wandering around, maybe it would be better to go look around for a demon. It couldn’t hurt to try at least.

Contemplating what to do next, the air suddenly became stagnant, even gaining an icy undertone. Noticing the sudden change in the world around her, Rosa looked around, doing her best to appear as calm as possible. Finally, her eyes landed on… something. Emerging from the dusty horizon was a lone figure that looked to be heading in her direction. They were moving at a moderate pace; not quite slowly, but certainly not very quickly. It was the gait of someone who wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. Eventually, aspects of the figure became clear; a headpiece made up of a half circle shape crescenting a horn-esk shape similar to that of a Beatles, a pair of wings with intricate designs of yellows and greens and blued and blacks that glittered in the firelight like stained glass.

As it got closer, she could see just how tall the figure was. It was certainly large, nearly as tall as some of the stone statue in the sactioum, and had a human figure that was distinctly feminine. If their great size and wings hadn’t given it away, the light yellow-green of their skin would have tipped anyone off that this wasn’t a human.

When the demoness stopped moving, there was still a sizable distance between the two, making it easier for Rosa to look at their face without having to look up as much. Was that on purpose? The demoness’s eyes began taking in her form, quickly becoming drawn to the silver colored rose shape emblazoned on her chest with pride; her umbra clock. The demoness smirked.

“My, my, it seems I’ve crossed paths with a witch once more.” She said in that distinct demon tongue any denizen of inferno tended to use. Her voice was smooth and clear, carrying with it a haunting pitch. “It has been ever so long since last I saw one of your kind.”

There was no malice or any threatening darkness in her voice, just simple curiosity. Not wanting to be rude, Rosa bowed respectfully at the demoness.

“Greetings, I am Rosa.” She said. “I’ve come here seeking a pact demon.”

The demoness’s face lit up with mock surprise, a chuckle rumbling in her throat.

“Ah yes, the pact between witch and demon. It has many long centuries since my own pact witch died.” The demoness mused. “It was such a joyous time, so many angels fell by out hands, blissful memories.”

A crimson eye turned to her.

“So, young Rosa, do you seek to forge a pact with I, Madama Khepri?” The demoness asked, amused.

Rosa thought it over for a moment.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it, Madama.” She answered. “I do not seek any demon in particular, and you are no doubt a powerful demon. I would be honored to forge a pact with you, if that is what you desire.”

Madama Khepri let out a short howl of laughter, keeping a sense of composure to her and she expressed her amusement.

“Child of the dark art, I find you amusing. Let us form that which shall bind the two of us together as partners of sorts for as long as either should live.”

Pride bloomed within her chest. Finally, she would soon be a true umbra witch, one who could serve her people well.

“I thank you, Madama Khepri, and look forward to fighting alongside one such as yourself.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is also sort of a prequel to Sun, Moon, and Eclipse, going back and seeing how Balder and Rosa's relationship came to be.


End file.
